Water Quality Vocab 

Jillian Sperico

Runoff

- The draining away of water going off an area of land.

Transpiration

The process where plants absorb water from their roots and give off water vapor through their leaves.

Respiration

A process which living organisms involving producing energy, taking in oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide . 

Percolation 

The process of liquid slowly passing through a filter. 

Infiltration 

When water on the ground goes into the soil.

Approximate

Something to be similar or close to something in nature, quantity or quality.

River Basin

The land that water crosses or goes under on its way to the river.

Watershed 

The area of land that all the water that falls into it, drains off into a common outlet.

Tributary 

A river or stream leading or flowing into a larger river or lake .

Groundwater 

Water  held underground , in the pores or in  the creases of rocks.

Aquifer 

A body of permeable rock that can transmit or contain groundwater. 

Artesian Well 

If water reaches the ground surface by natural pressure of the aquifer, the well is called a flowing Artesian Well.

Permeable 

A material allowing liquid or gases  to  pass through it. 

Impermeable 

Not allowing liquid to pass through a material

Assume

Supposed to be, without proof

Point Source Pollution

A single identifiable source of air, water pollution, thermal, noise  or light pollution.

Non-point source pollution

is caused by rainfall or snowmelt moving over and through the ground

Bio-indicator

species that can be used to monitor the health of an environment or ecosystem

Contaminate

make (something) impure by exposure to or addition of a poisonous or polluting substance

Macro-invertebrate

 large Invertebrates are animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebrate.

Algal bloom

a rapid increase  in the population of algae ​in water.

Identify

establish or indicate what something is.

Pollutant

Something that can pollute a substance, usually water or the atmosphere.

Water Hardness

amount of dissolved calcium and magnesium in the water

Stewardship

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